“Usually [the blimp’s] farther up. It just seemed to be much closer.”JENNIFER CAPRIATI
Jennifer Capriati was talking about blimps yesterday, but not about her own chiseled frame.
After finally being tested here, taken to a third set by southpaw Emelie Loit, Capriati admitted she complained about the noise from the Goodyear blimp flying over Ashe Stadium.
She asked the chair umpire if it could be removed during her 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 third-round, two-hour victory.
“I just asked if the blimp was going to go around the whole time,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt to ask. Maybe they won’t do it, but you don’t know. It was loud. Usually [the blimp’s] farther up. It just seemed to be much closer.”
The blimp left, but not under any orders. The blimp ultimately proved to be a bigger impediment than Loit. Capriati lost focus in the second set and lost the first set of her tournament. She will face 11th-seeded Elena Dementieva in the fourth round tomorrow. Dementieva, an Open semifinalist in 2000, beat Amy Frazier in two tiebreakers, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-3).
“[Loit] started playing a lot better, but I lost patience a bit,” said Capriati, who had 13 unforced errors in the second set. “She doesn’t give you any pace and her slice, I wasn’t used to playing against that so I had to adjust a little.”
Capriati still should feast on Dementieva’s horrendous second serve that barely breaks 70 miles per hour. Yesterday, she seemed to be hitting it sidearm.
“I think it’s definitely the weakest shot in [Dementieva’s] game,” Capriati said. “I just tried to pounce on her second serve. That’s when you put on the pressure.”
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Unseeded Mary Pierce continued her unlikely run with a 6-4, 6-1 third-round win over Shinobu Asagoe. Pierce said she plans to write her autobiography after she retires, with all the twists and turns in her career, including her much-public problems with her father Jim Pierce.
“I’m the type of person that if I’m gonna do something, I’m going to do it all the way and full-out or not do it at all. It would take a lot of thought because I’m not the only person in my life. One of my principles is honesty. The truth hurts.”
FEATURED MATCHES (Sports & Late City)
CBS
11 a.m.-6 p.m.
USA Network
7 p.m.-11 p.m.Arthur Ashe Stadium
Day Session
Lindsay Davenport (3), United States, vs. Nadia Petrova (19), Russia
Andre Agassi (1), United States, vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (28), Russia, comp. of susp. match
Flavio Saretta, Brazil, vs. Andy Roddick (4), United States
Night Session
Kim Clijsters (1), Belgium, vs. Meghann Shaughnessy (17), United States
James Blake, United States, vs. Roger Federer (2), Switzerland
